Psychometric Evaluation of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Belief Scale Based on Health Belief Model’s Constructs for the Fecal Occult Blood Test

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> It is important to validate scales related to cancer screening beliefs in order to better understand perceptions. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the colorectal cancer screening belief scale based on Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: Data were collected from 600 persons referred to outpatient laboratory units in Iran through a convenience sampling procedure. In this cross-sectional study, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine construct validity of scale. <br/><b>Results</b>: Through exploratory factor analysis, 52 items of the scale converged to five constructs of HBM with 4 items omission. Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analysis through which correlated model was supported. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the whole scale was obtained as 0.78, which indicates reliability of the scale. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: The study findings showed that this scale is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used for measuring HBM constructs about colorectal cancer screening with the fecal occult blood test.